| | | | | | | Presented By Facebook | | | | Axios AM | | By Mike Allen ·Oct 25, 2020 | | 🥞 Happy Sunday! Today's Smart Brevity™ count: 1,463 words ... 4½ minutes. 🚨 White House chief of staff Mark Meadows tells Jake Tapper on CNN's "State of the Union": "We are not going to control the pandemic. We are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics ... Because it is a contagious virus just like the flu." Video. 🗞️ New Hampshire's (Manchester) Union Leader today endorses Joe Biden — the first time in 100 years that the influential paper has backed a Democrat. | | | | | | 1 big thing ... What Matters 2020: Missed moment |  | | | Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photos: Jason Armond (Los Angeles Times), Noam Galai, Jabin Botsford (The Washington Post), Alex Wong/Getty Images | | | | As the 2020 campaign draws to a close, President Trump and Joe Biden have focused little on some of the most sweeping trends that will outlive the fights of the moment, Axios managing editor David Nather writes. - Why it matters: Both have engaged on some issues, like climate and China, on their own terms. Biden has addressed themes like economic inequality. But others have gone largely unmentioned — a massive missed opportunity on big shifts that are changing the country.
Here's a snapshot, narrated by Axios subject-matter experts, on the candidates' handling of the "What Matters 2020" issues that Axios spotted for you a year ago: 1. Mind manipulation on social media: Trump himself has become one of the most powerful vectors for misleading and manipulative information in the U.S., Axios' Scott Rosenberg writes. 2. Artificial intelligence and robotics: Neither Trump nor Biden have devoted much time on the campaign trail to automation and AI, Axios' Bryan Walsh reports. - Biden has called for a $300 billion investment in research and development on breakthrough technologies including AI, as well as expanding workforce development in digital and technology skills.
3. China: Trump has made his hawkish approach to China a cornerstone of his re-election campaign, Axios' Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian reports. - But the Trump campaign has not articulated what the next four years of its China strategy might look like.
- Biden has criticized China repeatedly on the campaign trail. But rising racism against Chinese-Americans during the coronavirus pandemic, inflamed by Trump administration rhetoric, has made it difficult for Biden to directly address the growing threat from Beijing.
4. Climate change: This has become a clear wedge issue between the candidates, and their positions are about as opposite as you can get, Axios' Amy Harder reports. - Trump has moved ever so slightly from his general dismissal of the problem to say humans have an impact on warming the planet "to an extent." Scientists say human activity is the driving factor.
5. Health care costs: The coronavirus upended the health care debate and short-circuited any chance to talk about fixing the most expensive health care system in the world, Axios' Sam Baker writes. 6. Demographic change: Both Biden and Trump have shown an awareness of two of the biggest demographic shifts — the importance of young voters and a shrinking white America — particularly in their choices of speakers at the conventions this summer, Axios' Stef Kight reports. - Biden has targeted some campaign proposals to young voters as well, with plans to eliminate some student debt and make it easier for young people to buy homes and build wealth.
- Trump hasn't been able to take full advantage of another demographic trend — the growing voting power of older generations — because he has struggled to hold on to his base of older voters this election cycle, largely over concerns about his handling of the coronavirus.
7. Capitalism and inequality: The failures of capitalism have become even more glaring over the course of the 2020 election campaign, thanks to the effects of the pandemic, Axios' Felix Salmon reports 8. Structural racism: Trump has repeatedly downplayed or redirected the conversation when asked about whether structural, or systemic, racism is a problem in the U.S., Axios' Margaret Talev reports. - Biden acknowledges systemic racism by name and proposes ways to address it in his "Build Back Better" economic plan. He has committed to tapping a diverse Cabinet and naming the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, and has called for police reforms and other changes.
Go deeper. |     | | | | | | 2. Pence travels despite outbreak in his office | | Marc Short in the East Room in July. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Using the argument that he's an essential worker, Vice President Pence will lead a campaign rally again today, despite last night's revelation of positive COVID tests for chief of staff Marc Short and outside political adviser Marty Obst. - According to a White House pool report, chief of staff Mark Meadows, who spoke briefly to reporters in the driveway after TV interviews, ignored the shouted question: "Why is Pence traveling — that seems insane?"
😷 Meadows told Jake Tapper today on CNN's "State of the Union" that Pence "will be wearing a mask today. ... Obviously when you have an exposure, you have to take additional mitigation factors." P.S. One year ago today ... | | | | | | | | 3. Wall Street lives up to its reputation |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | Recent headlines will have you convinced that Wall Street is hell-bent on living up to its stereotypes, chief financial correspondent Felix Salmon writes: - Goldman Sachs, of course, is the biggest and the boldest, paying more than $5 billion in fines for the 1MDB scandal, in which billions were stolen from the people of Malaysia.
- Wells Fargo paid a $3 billion fine for taking advantage of millions of customers by opening accounts in their names that they weren't aware of.
- JPMorgan paid $920 million in fines to settle charges that it manipulated futures markets in Chicago.
- Citigroup was fined $400 million for its management's failure to effectively stay on top of its operations.
- Morgan Stanley paid a $60 million fine for failing to protect its customers' data.
P.S. Hundreds of bank employees have been fired from Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase for abusing the government's coronavirus relief programs. | | | | | | | | A message from Facebook | | We support updated internet regulations | | |  | | | | At Facebook, we continue to take steps to improve our platforms such as tripling our safety and security teams, building privacy tools, and more. Updated internet regulations will set standards for addressing today's toughest challenges. Read why we support updated internet regulations. | | | | | | 4. Pope names first Black U.S. cardinal | | Archbishop Wilton Gregory, following a 2019 mass at St. Augustine Church in Washington, D.C. Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP Pope Francis today named 13 cardinals, including Washington, D.C., Archbishop Wilton Gregory, who'll become the first African American cardinal. - The selection of Gregory, 72, won praise from LGBT advocates in the U.S., days after the pope voiced support for civil unions for gay couples, AP reports.
Why it matters: Gregory is an architect of the U.S. Catholic Church's zero-tolerance policy in response to the clerical sexual abuse crisis, per the N.Y. Times. | | | | | | | | 5. 📱 Biggest sweetheart deal in America | | The Justice Department suit against Google jeopardizes one of the most lucrative business deals in history — Apple's installation of Google as the default search on iPhones, the N.Y. Times' Daisuke Wakabayashi and Jack Nicas report: - Why it matters: "The updated deal was worth billions of dollars to both companies and cemented their status at the top of the tech industry's pecking order," the Times writes.
Keep reading (subscription) ... Smart Brevity. | | | | | | | | 6. 🎧 First look ... Hillary Clinton: Most Republicans are "cowards" on Trump | | In August, Hillary Clinton attends a Central Park ceremony in conjunction with the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Photo: Carlo Allegri/Reuters Exclusive first look for AMers ... Hillary Clinton tells Kara Swisher for her New York Times Opinion podcast, "Sway," that most Republicans "have been cowards, spineless, enablers" of President Trump: - "They want to see him gone as much as we do, but they can't say it publicly."
Clinton also said she thinks a woman president would have handled the pandemic better. - Swisher: "You noted that a lot of countries that did best in the pandemic were led by women. ... Do you think a woman president in the United States would handle the pandemic better?"
- Clinton: "I have no doubt, especially if it were me. I have no doubt. I mean, I was born for that."
Keep reading. - Go deeper: Subscribe to the podcast, and get the episode when it drops (tomorrow by 6 a.m. ET) on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
| | | | | | | | 7. Tales from the trail: Trump 10 days out | | President Trump speaks at a rally in Circleville, Ohio, yesterday. Photo: Evan Vucci/AP President Trump — in Lumberton, N.C., at the first of the day's three rallies — mocked coverage of the pandemic, as the U.S. hit a daily record for new cases: That's all I hear about now. That's all I hear — turn on television. COVID! COVID! COVID! COVID! COVID! COVID! A plane goes down — 500 people dead. They don't talk about it. COVID! COVID! COVID! COVID! Then Trump raised his voice as if calling someone for dinner: COVID! COVID! ... COVID. President Trump speaks in Circleville, Ohio. Photo: Tom Brenner/Reuters Believe it or not, the photo below is a Biden rally, with Trump supporters greeting the former vice president's motorcade in Dallas, Pa.: Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images | | | | | | | | 8. Trail tales II: Biden 10 days out | | Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP Joe Biden — at a campaign stop at Bucks County Community College in Bristol, Pa. (above) — had this quote of the day: - "I will shut down the virus, not the economy."
Photo by Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images Jon Bon Jovi opens for Joe Biden in Dallas, Pa. Photo: Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images Former President Obama, speaking at a Biden-Harris drive-in rally in North Miami, joked about Trump's suggestion about nuking hurricanes, an Axios scoop: "At least he didn't do that! ... I mean, it'd be funny if it wasn't." | | | | | | | | 9. Halloween and COVID |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | Celebrating Halloween and Día de los Muertos will be difficult and more isolated this year, but can still be done while minimizing harm to others, Axios' Marisa Fernandez writes: - Avoid children grabbing candy from communal bowls or sanitize their hands afterward. Also consider handing out treat bags instead.
- A Halloween mask will not protect you from the virus.
- Some health departments are recommending "candy chutes."
Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead, in Mexican culture) participants should avoid large, indoor celebrations with singing or chanting, said Viviana Martinez-Bianchi, associate professor of family medicine and community health at Duke Family Medical Center. - Families can gather virtually and trade recipes.
More tips. | | | | | | | | 10. 1 smile to go | | Photo: Will Heath/NBC Maya Rudolph as NBC's Kristen Welker during the "Final Debate" cold open on "Saturday Night Live." | | | | | | | | A message from Facebook | | We support updated internet regulations | | |  | | | We support new regulations that hold companies, including Facebook, accountable on issues including: - Combating foreign election interference.
- Protecting people's privacy.
- Enabling safe and easy data transfer between platforms.
Read why we support updated internet regulations. | | | | 📱 Thanks for starting your Sunday with us. Invite your friends to sign up for Axios AM/PM. | |
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